Mini 5 Pro is Unavailable in the US Due to Regulatory Hurdles and Tariffs

DJI has brought the first-ever compact drone to feature a 1-inch sensor, its Mini 5 Pro, to the market… the European and Canadian market, that is. Government suspicion and tariff policies are preventing the drone maker from bringing its one-of-a-kind creation to the US, cutting one of the company’s biggest spenders from the launch.

The Mini 5 Pro has some impressive specs, introducing a 50-megapixel camera with 4K/60 HDR video, slow-motion capture at 4K/120, and a 225-degree gimbal roll for flexible camera movement, including true vertical shooting. It also incorporates a new 48mm Med-Tele mode for improved subject separation as well as DJI’s portrait optimization technology to brighten up tones and contrast. For creators, the drone supports 10-bit video, D-Log M, and HLG, with ISO performance up to 12,800.

Safety and flight performance have also had some exciting upgrades. The drone adds forward-facing LiDAR to its omnidirectional vision system, giving it obstacle sensing in low-light environments. Even in cities or areas with weak satellites, the drone can utilize features like nightscape obstacle detection, nighttime return-to-home, and non-GNSS route memorization to get on the ground in one piece.

The drone’s standard flight time is rated at 36 minutes, with an optional “Plus” battery extending endurance to 52 minutes, though that pushes the drone out of the 249-gram weight class.

International buyers will have access to DJI’s full creative suite, including MasterShots, QuickShots, panoramas, and an upgraded ActiveTrack 360 system for more stable subject tracking. For most of the world, it’s a straightforward upgrade to what was already the most capable drone in its weight class.

The situation looks less straightforward in the US, where DJI has been on the government’s Entity List since 2020 over allegations related to human rights abuses and surveillance in China. More recently, the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act set a December deadline for a Defense Department audit to determine whether DJI drones pose a national security risk. Until then, drones like the Mini 5 Pro cannot be sold through official US channels, and even imported units have faced seizures from Customs and Border Protection.

FMI: www.dji.com